Virginia Shannon: Our prized rivers

Peering over the bridge and down into the clear water of the Yampa River, countless memories flood my mind: tubing with friends, catching my first trout and basking on warm rocks on Colorado river banks. We count on having clean, healthy water for recreation and to experience all that Colorado has to offer.

That’s why it’s so important that the Obama administration restore protections that safeguard Colorado’s prized rivers like the Yampa from unlimited pollution.

Lawsuits brought before the Supreme Court by big polluters ended three decades of Clean Water Act protections for thousands of streams and millions of acres of wetlands nationwide. Nearly 21,053 residents in Routt County get their drinking water from public supplies fed by streams currently at risk.

President Barack Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have the chance to stand up for the Platte and Colorado river systems by restoring the Clean Water Act. I urge the Obama administration to see this essential effort through, bringing us closer to the day when all our waters are safe for swimming, fishing and drinking.